DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the character of Madison. Everything else belongs to someone with more money and imagination that myself.

Carter and I found ourselves on opposite shifts for weeks. We only saw each other during shift change for nearly a month. It was incredibly tough on a relationship and 'the incident' happened when I found out John had been meeting with a female insurance agent during his shifts.

So, when 'the incident' happened, I wasn't in the best frame of mind. I was being interviewed for the Chief Resident position and Kerry had spoken to me at length to make sure that my brother hadn't influenced me in my practice; Doug had left because it was his way of damning everyone around him when he refused to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions by staying in Chicago and facing the fallout; and I hadn't seen Carter in three days.

Anyway, I'd been hearing about Carter seeing this woman for dinner and I decided to come by during one of his shifts. The nurses hated telling me and, if it weren't for the fact that I used to be one of them, they would have let me find out for myself. I wasn't disappointed.
I came by bearing dinner for Carter and was told he was in the suture room.
I noticed the lights were off and I thought he was catching an early nap. He'd been up waiting for me when I got off an unusual 8 hour shift.

I pushed open the door silently and flicked on the light, saying 'Surprise' but the 'prise' part got lost by the choked scream I gave off.

There was my boyfriend with another woman. I didn't know exactly what happened between them, but the innuendo was there and I wasn't waiting for an explanation.

Cater came running out of the suture room and chased after me.

"Madison, wait," he called.
I kept walking toward the entrance.
"Madison, wait! We need to talk," he said.
I stopped and turned around on my heel.
"Talk? We need to talk? What's there to talk about? I know our schedules have been crazy, but I don't jump into bed with the first physically welcoming person that comes along," I said.
"I'm sorry," he said, looking around at the audience we had created.
"No you're not. You're sorry you got caught. So, you want to tell me how long this has been going on? How long have you been sleeping with the blonde bitch," I asked.
"You don't even know her," Carter said.
"Right and I don't want to know her. I'm going to make this easy on you Carter: If you need a place to stay, I'm sure the sewer is available. It's a perfect fit for rodent like you. You should feel right at home," I said, turning around and heading out the door.

I don't remember the walk to the EL or the walk to my house.

As soon as I got home, I called my brother. "Do you still have room for one seriously depressed sister to visit," I asked.
"Any time for you, Mads," he said.
"I'll call you with my flight time," I said.
I hung up with him and called the travel agent.
"I need to get a round-trip ticket from Chicago to Seattle," I said.
The travel agent worked on the arrangements.

I called the ER and asked to speak with Kerry.

"Madison, what's wrong," Kerry asked. Despite her dislike of my brother, and her doubt that I didn't know what Doug was doing, she thought me an excellent physician and, in a small way, a friend.

"I need to take a week off. I want to get out of Chicago for a while," I said.
"When," she asked.
"I have a flight booked for tomorrow morning," I said.

"You're not due back until the day after. I can handle those three shifts you'll be missing. I'll see you next Tuesday, then," Kerry asked.
"Yeah. I'll come back Monday afternoon. Thanks, Kerry. You can have me cover those shifts for the ones that will be covering mine," I said.
"We have new R2's starting, so that will work out fine. You'll be ready to take over as Chief Resident when you come back, I hope," Kerry asked.
"Yeah. Thanks, Kerry. That means a lot," I said.
"Well, Mark and I think you have what it takes and it's the first step toward an attending position," she said.

"I'll see you then, Kerry. Thanks," I said, hanging up the phone.

I went upstairs and packed a small suitcase. I didn't want to take much. I just wanted to get out of the city and get away from what I had seen and the pain being with Carter caused.

I put the suitcase by my bedroom door and headed downstairs for some coffee. As I was sitting down to drink the coffee, I heard the front door unlock and the alarm beep as it was turned off. I heard Carter come down the hall into the kitchen.
"Sonny, can we talk," he asked.
"About what, Carter," I asked, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
"I'm sorry," he said.

I didn't say anything, I just let the tears flow down my cheeks.
"I know it was wrong. I got caught up in the flirting and the way she was paying attention to me. I was feeling lonely and she was there. She was easily available," Carter said, leaning against the counter.
"I love you, John Carter, but I can't trust you right now. I'm going away. I'll be back in a week and then I'll start as Chief Resident. You can store your stuff in the basement apartment if you need time to find a place," I said, putting my cup in the sink.

"That's it," Carter asked.
"Yeah. That's it. Kind of funny how four years ends just like that," I said, heading upstairs to my room. "You better head back to the hospital. I'll be gone when you get off tomorrow and you can move your things," I added, closing the bedroom door.

I heard him say, 'I love you Madison. I'll always love you," before the front door locked and the alarm activated. I sat on the bed and buried my face in his pillow and sobbed.

CARTER'S POV

I don't know why I did it. Well, I know why I did it, but I don't know why I wanted to because I loved Madison. She was everything to me. She knew me better than anyone and supported me when I needed it the most. She was stressed with the situation with Doug and the whole Chief Resident selection and I knew I should have tried to be there for her, but I wasn't. I was feeling sorry for myself.

For the four years Madison and I had been together, I had never once felt neglected. We worked together. A year ago, I had moved into her town house because I had lost my RA job, thanks to Lucy and her Halloween party. Madison suggested I move in with her. I assumed she meant the apartment in the basement. I was surprised when she said she wanted me to share the house with her. I liked the idea of living with her. I moved into the house and we entered a new phase of our relationship. We were talking about marriage, but neither of us had positive marriages to look to. My parents seemed married for convenience and Madison's parents hadn't been happy for much of their union. Madison wanted to wait until residency was finished and I was for that. I was happy being with her.

Then the incident with her brother derailed our plans.

Madison hadn't been aware of what her brother was doing and the fallout really hurt her. She was upset that he'd kept it from her and she was angry that everyone assumed that she knew what was going on. She was angry with Doug for possibly ruining her chance as being chief resident and I was mad at him for that also.

The the schedule for the month came out and Madison and I were on different shifts. If she was off, I was working. We had three days off together the whole month and I wondered how we were going to handle that. We tried to be positive about the whole thing. "At least we'll be able to share the bed for a few minutes," she had said.
"Yeah, if the shift doesn't run long," I said.
We overlapped on a lot of shifts, with Madison working at 11 in the morning and me working at 7 in the evening. That gave us 4 hours to work together and four hours together at home, if we were lucky.

She dropped by with food for me when she was off and I tried to do the same for her. However, we were always busy and tired when we got home and our time together suffered.
I don't know why I found myself attracted to Roxanne. I don't know why I let it go as far as it did. I tried to tell myself that Madison was neglecting me and our needs as a couple, but I was just rationalizing. Roxanne was showing me attention that Madison hadn't been showing me in the last month. However, Madison had cooked dinner for me and did a thousand other little things for me, that I never noticed until I had moved out. She had channeled our time apart into doing things to make me happy since we didn't have that physical connection. When Roxanne hit on me and I hadn't seen Madison in three days, I gave in to the temptation. I didn't know she was going to surprise me at work and I didn't know she was going to walk in at that moment. Despite that being the one and only time I'd ever done that to Madison, it hurt like hell. I knew I wanted Madison, but knowing I'd probably ruined that because I was selfish, broke my heart.

When I went to the house after she'd fled the ER, I didn't know what to expect. She had been calm, but teary and told me she was leaving town for a week. Offering me the apartment in the basement was not something I was expecting.

When she left, I knew she was coming back and that I loved her. I just didn't know if it would do any good. I had to get her back because I loved her, but I realized that loving her might mean I'd have to let her go.

MADISON'S POV

I boarded the plane to Seattle the next morning, anxious to get out of Chicago and away from the pain of Carter's betrayal.

Hours later my plane landed in Seattle.

I headed to baggage claim and was relieved to see my brother waiting for me. I nearly ran to him. I enveloped him in a crushing hug.

"Easy there, Mads. I've missed you, too," he said.

He took my bags and led me out the door to the parking lot where he'd left his car. I climbed in and we headed off to his house.

He didn't ask any questions of me during the drive, but he was going to pepper me with questions as soon as I got to his house.

We pulled into the driveway of his house and I had to admit the pictures didn't do the place justice. He had a three car garage, a huge deck that ran the entire back of the house and a beautiful view of a lake. He had a dock with a boat sitting in a slip just out of the water.
"Wow, Dougie," I said.
"I know. Never thought I'd see the day when I owned my own house," he said.

The setting of his house was absolutely beautiful and the setting was serene. Immediately, I felt happier.

Doug wrapped his arms around me and hugged me.

"I know this is tough for you. I'm sorry," he said to me.

I hugged my brother back and cried on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, he guided me into his house.

We went into the kitchen and he poured some water into a mug and handed me a tin with tea bags.
"Thanks," I said to my brother.

He poured a cup of coffee for himself and leaned across the counter.
"Want to talk about it," he asked.

I took a sip of the tea and looked at my brother over the rim. "No, but I suppose I don't have a choice," I said.
Doug ushered me into his living room which was warm and inviting. He had a fire going in the fireplace and he sat down beside me on the couch.

"Carter slept with some insurance lady," I said, drinking my tea.

Doug nearly spit his coffee all over his coffee table. "He did what!"

"I know, I know. He slept with this woman that had been dropping around the ER a lot. Chuni and Lily noticed her hanging around a lot, especially when Carter was working. Anyway, we've been on opposite shifts and not seeing each other and he caved," I said.

"I can't believe this," Doug said, getting up off the couch.

"Look, I wanted to get away from Chicago for a few days and not be there when Carter moved his stuff out of the house," I said.
"He was living with you," he asked.
"Doug, don't, OK. I want to move on," I said.
"Will you be able to work with him," Doug asked.
"Yeah. I'll be Chief Resident, so it'll be fine," I said.
Doug eyed me and I shook my head. "Can you take me out on that boat? I haven't been on a boat in a long while," I said.

Doug smiled and we headed out the back door toward the dock.

I spent a relaxing week with my brother, just playing tourist. He showed me the ER he was running and I was impressed with the operation. He also managed to get the ER director to offer me an attending position. The catch was, I would be able to finish the extra year as Chief Resident. The offer sounded tempting, but I didn't know if I wanted to leave Chicago and not be the Chief Resident, despite the break up with Carter.

When Doug dropped me off at the airport, he made one more push for me to move to Seattle.

"Come on Maddie, you can live with me," he said.
"Been there, done that. I appreciate the offer and I'll seriously mull it over. I have to finish as chief resident. It's what I've wanted," I said.
We shared a hug and I promised to call when I landed in Chicago.

I headed back to Chicago, ready for my new challenge as Chief Resident.

When the taxi dropped me off at my house, I wasn't ready for the loneliness that hit me when I entered the house. I went upstairs and noticed Carter's clothes were gone. I wasn't ready for the reality that I was no longer part of a couple. That the man I had been in love with for nearly six years, was no longer mine. Despite everything that happened, I knew I'd always love Carter. No matter what, I knew John Carter was my soul mate.